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Customer Support · head to head

Plain vs SharpSpring

Plain logo

Plain

Customer Support

AI support infrastructure built for B2B teams

From
$35/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
SharpSpring logo

SharpSpring

CRM

Marketing automation for agencies

From
$50/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Plain foundation plan limited to 2,000 credits per month may be restrictive for high-volume teams; SharpSpring still operates under the SharpSpring brand name (footer copyright SharpSpring 2026) as a Constant Contact product, serving over 2000 agencies and 10000 businesses per the vendor site
  • They diverge on capability: Plain covers Multi-channel consolidation, SharpSpring covers Contact management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Plain and SharpSpring actually diverge.

Attributes where Plain and SharpSpring differ
AttributePlainSharpSpring
Starting price$35/month$50/month
Pricing modelTiered pricing per seat with credit systemsubscription
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb
CategoryCustomer SupportCRM
FoundedUnknown2014

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Plain

  • Multi-channel consolidation
  • AI agents
  • Workflow automation
  • Sidekick assistant
  • Insights engine
  • Linear and Jira integration
  • Help Center and Knowledge Base
  • API-first extensibility

Only in SharpSpring

  • Contact management
  • Email marketing
  • Landing pages
  • Marketing automation
  • CRM
  • Reporting
  • White labeling
  • Zapier

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Plain

  • Consolidating support from multiple channels into one inboxnot SharpSpring
  • Automating support workflows with AI agentsnot SharpSpring
  • Extracting insights and trends from customer conversationsnot SharpSpring
  • Building custom support solutions with API accessnot SharpSpring
  • Implementing AI-assisted customer support at scalenot SharpSpring

SharpSpring

  • Marketing automationnot Plain
  • Lead generationnot Plain
  • Client managementnot Plain

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Plain

  • Foundation plan limited to 2,000 credits per month may be restrictive for high-volume teams
  • Pricing increases significantly from Foundation to Horizon ($35 to $299 per month)
  • No published pricing for Frontier (custom) plan
  • Additional seat costs ($99 per seat) add up for larger teams
  • Credit-based system requires monitoring usage to avoid overages

SharpSpring

  • Still operates under the SharpSpring brand name (footer copyright SharpSpring 2026) as a Constant Contact product, serving over 2000 agencies and 10000 businesses per the vendor site

Pricing, plan by plan

Plain

$35/month
  • Foundation$35/month
    • 2,000 credits per month
    • Slack and email channels
    • Ari AI agent
  • Horizon$299/month
    • 15,000 credits per month
    • All Foundation features
    • Microsoft Teams integration
  • Frontier$null/custom
    • Custom credit allowance
    • All Horizon features
    • Discord channels

SharpSpring

$50/month
  • Professional$50/month
    • Contact management
    • Email marketing
    • Landing pages
  • Agency$100/month
    • Everything in Professional
    • Client management
    • White labeling
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Everything in Agency
    • Custom integration
    • Dedicated support

Which should you pick?

Choose Plain if

  • You need multi-channel consolidation.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want ai agents.
Plain review

Choose SharpSpring if

  • You need contact management.
  • You also want email marketing.
SharpSpring review

Questions people ask

Is Plain or SharpSpring better?
Neither clearly leads. Plain starts at $35/month and SharpSpring at $50/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Plain or SharpSpring?
Plain starts at $35/month and SharpSpring at $50/month.
Does Plain or SharpSpring run on more platforms?
Plain runs on Web, API. SharpSpring runs on Web.
What is Plain best used for?
Plain is most often used for consolidating support from multiple channels into one inbox, automating support workflows with ai agents, extracting insights and trends from customer conversations, building custom support solutions with api access. Of those, consolidating support from multiple channels into one inbox and automating support workflows with ai agents are not what SharpSpring is typically brought in for.
What can Plain do that SharpSpring cannot?
Plain covers Multi-channel consolidation, AI agents, Workflow automation, Sidekick assistant. SharpSpring covers Contact management, Email marketing, Landing pages, Marketing automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Plain: What is included in the Foundation plan?

The Foundation plan ($35/month per seat) includes 2,000 credits per month, support for Slack and email, Ari AI agent, Linear and Jira integrations, and Help Center access. Up to 5 seats are included.

Source
SharpSpring: Does SharpSpring offer different pricing for agencies versus enterprise customers?

SharpSpring explicitly tailors pricing to three customer segments: SMBs, Agencies, and Enterprise. Agencies receive month-to-month plans with flexible billing, while enterprise customers get custom plans designed to scale.

Source
Plain: Can I use Plain with Microsoft Teams?

Yes, Microsoft Teams integration is available on the Horizon plan ($299/month) and higher.

Source
SharpSpring: Are SharpSpring's agency plans billed monthly?

Yes. The site specifically mentions that agencies receive affordable month-to-month plans, indicating monthly billing flexibility rather than annual-only contracts.

Source
Plain: Is there a free trial for Plain?

Yes, Plain offers a 7-day free trial with no credit card required. You can also get 50% discount through their startup program.

Source
SharpSpring: What payment options are available for SharpSpring?

The site does not specify payment methods or models. Specific pricing details and payment options require contacting SharpSpring directly or visiting their dedicated pricing pages.

Source
SharpSpring: Is SharpSpring more affordable than competitors?

SharpSpring describes itself as offering a full feature set for a fraction of the cost of leading competitors, particularly for SMBs. However, specific pricing amounts are not disclosed on the homepage.

Source
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